WOW!!! I just saw how much first semester books cost!!!

[Waitingtill2010]

hello all....

okay, can you tell me if this is normal.... i only have two classes this semester, intro to nursing and a sociology class. i browsed the schools bookstore website and books alone for my nursing course will run $700.:crying2: i noticed there are alot of study guides, a medical dictionary and other course supplementals. besides the textbook, how much of this stuff should i purchase...so, much reads required.. . how much did you all spend on first semester books???

below is the dreadful list... thank you for your help!!!

brunner and suddarth's textbook of medical-surgical nursing. 2 volume set. text with internet access code and dvdthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $118.80 savings: $13.20 (10%) list price: $132.00

calculate with confidencethis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $61.16 savings: $6.79 (10%) list price: $67.95

exploring medical language. text with flash cardsthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $62.95 savings: $7.00 (10%) list price: $69.95

fundamentals of nursing. text with cd-rom for windows and macintoshthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $99.00 savings: $11.00 (10%) list price: $110.00

mosby's manual of diagnostic and laboratory teststhis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $46.76 savings: $5.19 (10%) list price: $51.95

mosby's pocket guide for health assessmentthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $35.96 savings: $3.99 (10%) list price: $39.95

nursing diagnosis handbook: an evidence-based guide to planning carethis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $49.45 savings: $5.50 (10%) list price: $54.95

pearson nurse's drug guide. text with internet access code 2011this product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $37.76 savings: $4.19 (10%) list price: $41.95

pharmacology and the nursing processthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $79.16 savings: $8.79 (10%) list price: $87.95

pocket guide to apa style. updated editionthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $26.95 savings: $3.00 (10%) list price: $29.95

study guide and skills performance checklists for potter/perry fundamentals of nursingthis product is [color=crimson]required for this course your price: $25.16 savings: $2.79 (10%) list price: $27.95

study guide for brunner and suddarth's textbook of medical-surgical nursingthis product is recommended for this course your price: $26.05 savings: $2.90 (10%) list price: $28.95

taber's cyclopedic medical dictionary. thumb-indexed version with taber's plus dvdthis product is recommended for this course your price: $37.76 savings: $4.19 (10%) list price: $41.95

[Busia]

I second Half.com I buy and sell as many of my textbooks as I can on there. (I get a LOT more back for them than if I were to sell them back to the school at book buyback).

A lot of these books you will use the entire program, so your next semester should be a ton cheaper. My first semester I spent around $800 (everything used that I could get used), this next semester I only have to spend around $120, and the following semester around $80.

[athrun340]

buy used books on eBay - New more at low prices you will save a lot of money. Or if you want, you can just rent.. much cheaper than buying. I suggest you only do this on minor books though. Here's the website: Chegg.com: Cheap Textbook Rentals. Best way to Rent Books for College

[guiltysins]

My first semester books will be about 600, I shopped around online and didn't get too many deals because my school bookstore sells things like the textbook+skills video+ study guide together as one package deal and I couldn't find packages when I looked on amazon or Half.com. And for the ones I did find the difference in the price were maybe about 5-10 bucks which wasn't worth it if you included shipping.

[•M♥J•]

Buy used on amazon.com or half.com. I couldn't have made it through undergrad without these sites! Also, I just recently discovered chegg.com which allows you to rent your textbooks for much less than buying. Good luck to you :)

[Waitingtill2010]

Thanks to you all for your great suggestions and tips!!!!!

[happy2learn]

Never buy books at your schools bookstore! Go to Amazon (especially their marketplace), or textbooks.com. I never buy my books new.

[MrsJessica]

I was going to suggest using Amazon also. I used them 2 semesters ago and the book was new and saved me at least 100 on each book that I was able to buy. I know books are expensive and last semester when I was finishing up all my pre-reqs I spent more than 700.00 on my books . Our list hasn't come out for this year yet, but I'm sure it won't be pretty!

Don't forget a lot of times you are able to get free shipping on other sites!

[rnbound74]

I looked through your book list. I counted at least 6 books that you will use through your whole student nursing career. The courses to come will not cost as much or nothing at all. For example if you take psych. you may need to buy only the psych. book.

[mammac5]

Unless they're going to refuse to admit you to class without a specific book (or the latest edition of same) don't buy all that junk!

Online access is your best friend for drug info and medical dictionary/encylopedia.

Textbooks.com; amazon.com; chegg; etc. are worth the time spent looking for good clean books.

Check with your school to find out if they will give your contact info to out-going students who want to sell their books. This is a great option since you need them, they don't need/want them anymore, and all out-going students need $$$.

If it's a small school and you know people there, find out who "washed out" during the first year of the program...they got books they don't even want to LOOK at!!

[tokyoROSE, BSN, RN]

Mosby's Manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests

Mosby's Pocket Guide for Health Assessment

Nursing Diagnosis Handbook: An Evidence-Based Guide to Planning Care

Pearson Nurse's Drug Guide. Pocket Guide to APA Style.

Study Guide and Skills Performance Checklists for Potter/Perry Fundamentals of Nursing.

Buy older eds for these and you will save a TON of money. I wouldn't get the Pocket Guide to APA Style altogether. The sources on the internet are much better (OWL at Purdue is great). The rest look on BIGWORDS.COM and it will search through several websites for the best value.

[meemer]

I used Chegg.com to rent my books for the last year of my nursing program. It was so much cheaper than buying them from the bookstore. You can rent your books and return them at the end of the quarter/semester. I highly recommend it! I had some instructors that didn't end up using the "required" textbooks so I would send them back within 30 days and get my money back. I wish I knew about Chegg.com when I started nursing school.

[dollface6]

I also just got accepted to my Nursing program starting this Fall and complied a book list for Fall and just my Nursing books and etc are going to come to more than $1150! I am also taking a class for my minor to round out the credits I need to be full time and that book will be $40 so in total I will be spending almost $1200 for just ONE SEMESTER! This is just craziness to me. I'm most definitely going to check out online bookstores to save some money!